Bayonet reattached to Elgin WWI Doughboy statue

Bayonet reattached to Elgin WWI Doughboy statue

Janelle Walker, The Courier-News

The bayonet was reattached to the Doughboy statue Friday. The statue was erected in 1922 — after just six weeks of fundraising raised the $2,500 needed for the WWI memorial, according to the Elgin Historical Society. The city plans to place a fence and plantings around the soldier to prevent future vandalism.

The bayonet was reattached to the Doughboy statue Friday. The statue was erected in 1922 — after just six weeks of fundraising raised the $2,500 needed for the WWI memorial, according to the Elgin Historical Society. The city plans to place a fence and plantings around the soldier to prevent future vandalism. (Janelle Walker, The Courier-News)

David Reich (kneeling) and Ed Schmidt replace the bayonet on Elgin’s “Over the Top” statue. Historians believe the bayonet has been broken off at least twice before — once in 1938 and again after it was reinstalled in 2001.

David Reich (kneeling) and Ed Schmidt replace the bayonet on Elgin’s “Over the Top” statue. Historians believe the bayonet has been broken off at least twice before — once in 1938 and again after it was reinstalled in 2001. (Janelle Walker, The Courier-News)